


Fanning and Displays

by Fenix_Page, RoselineSmith



Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders, Thomas Sanders/Thomas Sanders (Video Blogging RPF) - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: M/M, Possibly polysanders in the future, i can't tag, we don't know if we'll continue it, winged au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 16:36:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12775062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fenix_Page/pseuds/Fenix_Page, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoselineSmith/pseuds/RoselineSmith
Summary: This was co-written by myself and Fenix-queen from Tumblr.Winged AU. Sometimes our past can haunt us for years, sometimes we never seem to get over accidents that happened. Sometimes, we need a bit of help to process that it isn't our fault.





	Fanning and Displays

Logan had just finished a video with Thomas and the other sides, his wings had been tightly clipped to his back, the clip hidden by his shirt and tie as he took a deep breath. He released the half of the clip that held the navy blue wings against his back. They stayed close to his back, their feathers ruffling, the white tips and spots giving an almost galaxy like pattern to the wings. He looked up at the others as they popped up in the mindscape, they released their wing as well. Logan spotted Virgil arrive last, he called out to him; "Hey, Virgil, Can I talk to you?"

Virgil looked up at the logical side and before he could overthink about what Logan could possibly want, he nodded his head. "Sure, Logan."

Logan's wings fluttered slightly behind him as he moved, though they stayed close to his back. He grabbed one of Virgil's arms and pulled him out of the common room, down the main hallway and down the left branch that lead to Logan and Virgil's bedroom doors. 

The left brain side, housing Logan and Virgil, responsible for thinking in words, sequencing, mathematics, facts and logic. The right brain side, housing Patton and Roman, responsible for feelings, visualization, imagination, and creativity. 

Logan stopped himself and Virgil in front of their bedroom doors, knowing that Patton and Roman were less likely to interrupt them in this area, though it was not impossible. "May I ask, about something personal?" Logan questioned.

Virgil, stunned at the fact that Logan had just dragged him away from the other two, is suddenly wary. Tensing up, he runs through all the possible things that Logan could want to know and why he would need t- oh. Of course. Trying his best not to show it on his face, he starts to panic. To avoid or feign ignorance? While avoiding was preferable, Logan was nothing if not persistent. The logical side's curiosity demanded satisfaction... feign ignorance it is then. "Umm, sure...? What do you want to know?"

Logan frowned, "Do you have wings like the rest of us?" He asked softly, tilting his head as he stared at Virgil. He hadn't meant to be so blunt, but it was what he did and he needed Virgil to know that even if the other didn't have wings, he'd be supported.

 Well damn. Virgil didn't think he'd get straight to the point. Then again, this was Logan. The logical side detested making things more complicated than needed to be. He bit his lip, weighing up his options. He could lie, and he usually did. It was easy as the others seemed to lack the ability to read him. But since they started to include him and accept him more, he's done it less and less. And this was Logan, quite possibly the only side apart from Patton who wouldn't judge him. Plus he wouldn't make as much of a fuss... mind made up, the anxious side directed his gaze to the floor as he nodded softly.

Logan frowned slightly, adjusting his glasses nervously as he rose a hang and carefully caught Virgil under the chin with his thumb and forefinger, making him look up at him. "I don't know how to deal with many feelings but I have dealt with shame before and you do not need to feel shame over your wings. We all have them. And when Roman first toddled out of his room, his were nothing but little puff balls of red sticking out of his back." Logan paused, "You don't have permission to use that as ammunition against him. He can't know I told you that."

Virgil had to resist the urge to look away from Logan's searching gaze. It wasn't that he was ashamed of his wings, per say. He liked them just fine. But he wasn't anxiety for nothing. As much as the others had started to accept him as a part of Thomas and as  _one of them,_ there was a part of him that wondered when the other shoe would drop and things would go back to the way they had always been. Before all of the working through their issues. As he filed the information about Roman's wings as a child away for later, he allowed himself to trust Logan. Just a little. "I'm not ashamed of them Logan," he said softly, "I just don't.... I don't know how you guys would react to them." 

Logan rose an eyebrow at Virgil's statement, how they would react to them? What did Virgil mean by that... It's not like they made comments about the wings. "Would you be alright with only showing one of us? Perhaps myself or Patton? In an area where no one else would see?"

Virgil worried his lip with his teeth. When his show of trust didn't backfire straight away, he'd allowed himself to relax, just a little. Now though, at Logan's question, he felt himself freeze. Show the,? He couldn't quite hide his distress through, his eyes taking on a wide-eyed look. 

Logan's eyes widened at Virgil's obvious distress and he pushed Virgil back into the door, turning the knob as they both stumbled into Virgil's bedroom. "It is illogical to be scared." He said, shutting the door. "It was just an offer, you don' have to show any of us... I just, I figured hiding it for so long must be exhausting..."  

Virgil forced himself to calm down. It’s Logan, he reminded himself. He would be objective, he wouldn’t judge. But even with this mantra running through his head, he still couldn’t quite control the blush that spread across his cheeks like a wildfire. “Umm, well,” he started, rubbing the back of his neck nervously- his fingers just barely brushing the feathers of his wings- “it is if I uh, if I wear a clip.”

Logan nodded, he understood the exhaustion of wearing a clip, he had one wrapped around him right now, which he would need to take off so it didn't affect his torso, the type he used was a figure eight type clip, around his chest and around his wings, but he had released his wings. "What do you... use if not a clip?" He asked, tilting his head.

Virgil flushed a deeper red. He was _so_ not expecting to have to do all this today, if at all. Things were moving so fast- he had to pause for several moments to control his breathing. It wouldn’t do to have an attack right now. Thomas was finally resting after a long week, and he wasn’t about to mess with that.

“I, uh, I don’t use anything.”

Logan looks confused, his wings fanning out a tiny bit at the admittance that Virgil didn't use anything to keep his wings in place. "What do you mean you don't use anything. Your hoodie is not that baggy to hide them..." He said, looking down at Virgil to try and see the wings.

Virgil gritted his teeth. This was happening, and it looked like there was nothing he could do to avoid it or stall for any longer. He was beginning to feel too warm anyway, and if he didn’t adjust he’d overheat. Still, he needed a little reassurance from the other side that he would not react adversely. “Promise you won’t laugh, or go and get the others?”

Logan had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes but he nodded, "I will not go and get the others, or laugh." He said, though the fact of being in anxiety's room was getting to him, what if he did laugh and it hurt Virgil? What if Virgil showed him the wings and then laughed at Logan's wings because they were smaller or uglier or something. He rubbed at his eyes, a bit of black forming under his eye as he blinked at Virgil.

 Seeing the eye shadow appear on his friend, Virgil made this mind up. He’d show him, then get him out of there. He tore his gaze away from Logan- this was going to be embarrassing enough as it is, he didn’t need to see the other’s reactions. He shrugged off the hoodie, breathing a sigh of relief as he was immediately felt a little cooler. He trained his eyes to floor, as he began to lift his t-shirt, his feathers beginning to show. In one smooth movement the garment was up and off, and it was all he could not to groan as the cool air of his room hit his skin. Well, what skin it _could_ hit at the moment. Slowly, he allowed his wings to unwrap themselves from where they were coiled around his torso, his feathers ruffling as a sign of his relief...until he remembered that he wasn’t alone. He lifted his eyes to the logical side, face back to an alarming shade of red and waited for his response.

Logan stared, eyes wide as he took in Virgil's wings, he reached up to touch them, catching himself before slender fingers could come in contact with gorgeous feathers, the barred pattern that formed into the grey and white swirls was breathtaking. He glanced over at Virgil, a soft smile on his face as he took a deep breath. "Your wings are gorgeous Virgil." He said, sniffling slightly and rubbing at his eyes more, leaving more black on his skin under his eyes, he hoped he had said the right thing, the wings truly were gorgeous.

Virgil flushed a deeper red at the compliment, sheepishly rubbing his arm. He didn’t know how to respond to that, and it didn’t help that he was standing in front of the other side without his shirt on. Seeing the eye shadow on the other’s face deepen, he decided that that wasn’t important right now. He needed to get Logan out of there and back into neutral territory. He quickly shoved the shirt back on, the garment automatically adjusting to allow his wings to fan out comfortably. “We need to get you out of here,” he muttered, and grabbed the other’s arm leading him back into the hallway.

Logan whined, "Noooo. I want to see more of your wings." He said, though when he got through he barrier and into the hallway, he straightened up and cleared his throat. "I promise not to alert Patton to anything discovered today as long as you promise not to tell them about what I...just did as you were leading me out of your room."

Virgil smirked, feeling a lot better now that he wasn’t suffering from heat exhaustion. It was rare that they got to see the logical side flustered and it was an amusing sight. Still, he wasn’t about to prolong the other’s discomfort. He wasn’t _that_ mean. “Okay, Lo” he replied, smirk softening into a more genuine smile, his wings fluttering behind him “I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Logan adjusted his glasses, pushing them up on the bridge of his nose. "Can we, can we go into my room and I can see them again? They look like Vincent Van Gogh's work starry night, its gorgeous..." He said, holding out his hand to take Virgil with him..

Virgil nodded, he was pleasantly surprised at being proved wrong about the others’ reactions- Logan’s at least- and he probably would’ve agreed to anything at that moment. “I don’t mind,” he returned, clasping the other’s hand and allowing him to pull him into his room.

Logan yanked him to his room, it was simple but his bed was covered in papers, books and a thin layer of dust that showed he didn't sleep there, the couch on the other side of the room had a blanket draped over it, a pillow and a small stuffed unicorn that Patton had obviously given him. He carefully stopped in the middle of the room and looked over at Virgil. "Please can I touch?" He asked softly.

Virgil flushed red again, though this time not partially due to the heat. He allowed his wings to stretch out from where they were flattened against the back of his shirt, flapping them once to smooth out the feathers. He nodded his permission.

Logan ran his fingers over soft feathers and smiled, stepping forward and pressing his face against the gorgeous wings, it was almost intimate. Logan ran soft fingers against Virgil's feathers, carefully slightly flapping his own wings, they were so close that Virgil could touch if he wished. Logan had never touched anyone else's wings before, he had stayed away from Patton and Roman's wings. The only ones he touched was his own and that was only to preen.

Virgil froze, his heart rate spiking and his breathing going shallow at the other side’s brazenness and proximity to him. No one else had ever touched his wings other than him, and so he wasn’t expecting it to feel different. Hoo boy, was he _wrong_. Logan’s soft touch was simultaneously comforting and...thrilling, leaving him caught between wanting to run and never wanting it to end. He saw Logan’s wings begin to flap, the careful movements mesmerizing him. He reached out a hand to touch them, to soothe the almost agitated fluttering but pulled his hand back. Consent was important after all.

Logan smirked slightly as he glanced over at Virgil, "You can touch them... I normally preen them after being clipped for so long." He said, running his fingers over Virgil's feathers, carefully rubbing out the damage that the feathers got from being under the fabric. Virgil didn't clip his wings, so they weren't ratty like Logan's were after being clipped.

Virgil flushed at the other’s words, embarrassed at his careless movement. However that quickly wore off once he registered that he had permission to touch. Having never been as close to the others as he was now he hadn’t had the opportunity to. He was always left to look on when the others would mess around, so he wasn’t about to waste this chance. Hesitant, he reached out a hand, running his fingers through the dark blue feathers of his counterpart. They were soft to the touch, fluffy like down and more than a little ruffled from the clip. He smoothed them down one section at a time, occasionally running his fingers through the beautiful feathers, soothingly rubbing out the kinks caused by clipping. He was so focused on his task that he didn’t realize that Logan was no longer touching his wings.

Glancing over he noticed, Logan's eyes were closed and he was almost swaying on his feet. Logan had never asked Patton or Roman to preen his wings even though they would regularly preen each other's wings, he would always do his own himself, having someone else touch them was like electricity. Every touch was soft and careful, but enough to fix his feathers so they were all soft and heading the right way. After a few minutes, Logan opened his eyes and glanced at Virgil. "Thank you Virgil..."

Virgil snapped out of his daze at the sound of Logan’s voice. He flushed once more at the realization that Logan must have finished with his wings for a while now while he had carried on. He nodded, and offered the other a shy smile. “You’re welcome, Logan,” he murmured, “thanks for letting me.”

"Will you um... Will you do the other wing? Your finished with the other one..." He whispered, turning his wing so Virgil could see it as he switched to Virgil's other wing as his right wing presented itself to Logan, the feathers not as ruffled as the wing had been tucked inside the other one when they had been clipped.

Virgil smiled, happy that Logan would trust him with a task he would usually do himself. He had noticed that the logical trait refused whenever Roman or Patton would offer to help with the process, so for Logan to let him suggested something that neither had any words for. As he reached for the other’s wing, he felt one of his own lift to allow Logan better access almost without him having to think about it. He set about smoothing this new set of feathers, allowing himself to take his time. He studied the patterns that the patches of white created within the dark blue of Logan’s wings. He paused in his smoothing to trace out a portion of the wing covered in a cluster of the small white patches and realized that he recognized the pattern. He huffed a laugh as he soothed the sore looking kink. Only Logan would have constellations integrated in his wings.

Logan had been in the middle of preening Virgil's wing as he looked up when the other laughed, his mind thinking through every logical explanation that could explain why the other was laughing at him. He looked down, a tiny bit of insecurity wiggling around in his mind before he realized where Virgil's hand was. "Oh yes, most of my spots form constellations, the one in front of you is Cygnus." He explained, blushing softly as he looked down, taking in a deep breath before moving to keep preening.

Virgil shook his head fondly at the logical trait. “Nerd.” He whispered, his breath ghosting over the other’s neck as he stepped a little closer to his counterpart’s side in order to better reach a cluster of painful looking kinks resulting from the shape of the clip that the other used. He hated those things, which was why he preferred to simply wrap his wings around himself. The fact that it was somewhat comforting was an added bonus. Soon enough, he was finished- all the feathers were smoothed and all the kinks unraveled. He trailed his fingers over them one last time, first over the left- pausing only to trace Orion’s belt- then over the right to ensure that they were okay.

Logan let out a soft noise before he caught Virgil's chin between his fingers and pressed a soft kiss to the other's cheek. "Thank you, so much for helping me with this. I know that it's uncomfortable... To show someone something new, but I promise, no one here will make fun of your wings, especially with how gorgeous they are... But if you are not comfortable, you can keep them hidden... I'm just glad Thomas has yanked us into the real world yet when we aren't clipped, I don't think it would be good for us to be seen like this by our human host."

Tempted as he was to slam them back up again to keep the potential for pain at bay, Virgil allowed his walls to stay down. As it was he was comfortable with letting Logan see his emotions and so allowed the sheer gratitude he felt towards the other side for his easy acceptance and willingness to trust him show, as well as other things that he couldn’t identify but undeniably felt. Letting him make of it what he will, he made his choice. He was getting a little tired of hiding. “I’ll show them,” he said softly, “it’s about time.” Steeling himself, he allowed some of his guard to come back up, shielding himself in an attempt to prepare. “And you’re right,” he said, smirking slightly, “it’s a good thing Thomas hasn’t seen them yet. I’d rather not have to deal with the amount of panic that would cause.”

"We could... of course brush it off as similarity to an angel on your shoulder... I believe the expression is." He said, carefully leaning down and pressing a kiss to Virgil's hand before lifted up his shirt and he took the clip off from around his chest, moving back to his doors. Logan opened his door, stepping into the hallway, "Are you going to come or are you going to go into your room Virgil?"

Virgil worried at his lip again, doubting his decision more and more the more time passed. Gathering his resolve, he nods once and asks “can you bring them to my room? I don’t know if I’m ready to let them see straight away.” As he spoke, his wings began to coil back around their owner almost protectively in a sort of hug. He was, however, careful not to coil too tightly. He didn’t want to undo Logan’s work.

Logan nodded, "Of course Virgil."

~~~

Roman was sitting on the common room floor, fingers buried in Patton's wings as he preened the feathers. "You really need to stop bouncing around Pat, your wings are so ratted because of the clips. Why do you wear two? Is it that your worried Thomas will see them when you move?" He asked, pressing a finger against the oil gland on the wing to get more liquid to help with Patton's problem.

 Patton squirmed, a giggle escaping his lips as Roman’s fingers found yet another one of the tickle spots in his wings. The fatherly side was extremely ticklish and his wings were no different. They were blue and with a border of light grey and were, as Roman said, bouncing other the romantic side’s touch. “I’m sorry Roman! You know I’m ticklish,” he giggled again ”and that’s part of it. Thomas might not react well if he saw them, and I don’t want to burden Virgil with dealing with that. He deals with enough as it is. But it’s mostly because when he’s happy, or feeling any other strong emotion they start to flutter without me meaning to! It’s frustrating.”

Roman chuckled softly and carefully moved to run his fingers over the feathers again. "I know, I know. Just let me work out this last kink in the feathers and then we're done..." He said, moving to push his fingers through the feathers, holding on to the wing with a careful hand to try and stop the bouncing. "I can hear Logan..."

Logan moved down the hallway, his wings folded in a way that wouldn't damage the preen job that Virgil had done. "Patton, Roman... Virgil would like to show... show you something."

Roman rose an eyebrow as he looked at Patton. "Your done..." He said, standing up, his feathers ruffling as he glanced at Logan's wings. "Wait... You let Virgil preen your wings?" He pouted.

Logan frowned, "Yes. And Virgil wishes to show you something, now come on." He snapped in annoyance at Roman before he offers a hand to Patton.

Patton takes it, and allows Logan to pull him up until he was standing before doing the same for Roman. He was a little hurt that Logan had allowed Virgil to do something he had refused to let him and Roman do despite the fact that they’d asked for years. But at the same time he was also happy that the logical trait trusted his dark strange son enough to let him, and that the two were getting closer. “What is this about, Lo?” He asked as they walked through the commons and into the hallway.

Logan lead them through the hallways to Virgil's room before he knocked on the door. "Do you want them to come in both at the same time or one at a time?" He called to Virgil through the door.

Roman was annoyed, he kept glancing at Logan's wings, looking at Patton. "You won't tell us what this is about Logan. It's tedious and I wish you would just tell us."

Virgil’s voice was barely loud enough for them to hear, muffled as it was through the wood of his door, but they still heard him clearly enough when he said “just bring them both in, Lo. Might as well get this over with.”

Patton looked to his opposite in concern but found that he was already opening the door. Sharing a look with Roman, his tinged with worry and Roman’s with annoyance and no small amount of hurt, he followed him.

Logan opened the door and let Roman and Patton inside before he shut the door behind them and he went to go stand by Virgil.

Virgil was pacing when they entered and he didn’t stop after they did. He was once again wearing his hoodie, and the heat was starting to affect him once more, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. He looked up when Logan cleared his throat.

"Remember, I didn't laugh, neither will they." He said.

Roman rolled his eyes, "What is this about emo nightmare? First you drag us into this den of negative thoughts and horrors, for what? Just to hurt us?" He asked.

Logan's eyes narrowed at Roman, "Shut up Roman. Let Virgil take his time." He snipped in annoyance.

Roman crossed his arms but stared at Virgil.

Virgil looked uncertain of that, or at least that no harm would come to him. Roman did not look pleased. His blush deepened when the scrutinizing stare the other was giving him didn’t cease.

Sensing his discomfort Patton stepped further into the room, coming to a stop just in front of him. Softly grabbing his chin, he mirrored Logan’s earlier actions and lifted it to meet Virgil’s eyes with his own. He smiled reassuringly at him. “Hey kiddo, it’s okay. You’re alright,” he murmurred softly to the distressed side, reaching up his free hand to lightly run through the other’s hair soothingly, “whatever it is, Logan’s right. We won’t laugh, _**isn’t that right, Roman?**_ ” He asked, turning slightly to pin the romantic side with a look that promised trouble if he did.

Roman sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes, "Fine! Fine. I won't laugh. I still wish I could have been the one to preen Logan's wings." He muttered, shaking his head as his red wings puffed out.

Logan closed his eyes and he carefully moved to stand by Virgil. "Here, give me the hoodie, it's way to hot Virgil.. You have to remember to cool down." He said, holding out his hands to take the hoodie when handed to him.

Reluctantly, Virgil shrugged the piece of clothing off, hesitating only when about to remove it from his person completely. Still he placed it in Logan’s waiting hands. He knew he couldn’t have it on if he wanted to get this over with. He ran his hands carefully over the feathers covering his t-shirt clad torso, soothing himself.

At first glance there was nothing different about the anxious side’s appearance. However Patton noticed that something was off about Virgil’s shirt...”is that a new shirt Virgil? I don’t remember ever seeing it before. Is that what you wanted to show us? It looks great on you!” He gushed, hoping that a positive reaction would soothe the other side.

Roman rolled his eyes, "If this was all for showing us your new shirt. This could have been done anywhere but here." He said, moving to turn, yelping when a hand grabbed onto his wing and yanked him back.

Logan held onto Roman's wing tightly as he held the hoodie carefully in his other hand. "Goodness gracious. You are so annoying." He huffed, "Virgil, If either of them starts to laugh, I will personally kick them out of your room, and they'll loose some feathers along with it."

Roman gasped at the idea, "Excuse me?! Pull out my feathers. You have another thing coming if you think that I'd let you damage my wings."

“Logan it’s alright. I might as well get this over with. The room is already affecting him.” Virgil replied, tone suspiciously tight as he gestured to Roman’s eyes that were already ringed with black. “And let go of the wing, pocket protector. None of you are getting hurt in my realm.” He commanded, leveling the logical trait with a look full of challenge as well as thankfulness at the other’s defense of him.

Patton nodded in agreement to Virgil’s statement. He hated it when any of them fought, but especially if it got physical though it rarely ever did. He was also very curious now as to what else it could be that Virgil would want to show them.

Logan released Roman's wing, rubbing under his eyes as they also had a small black line under his eyes.

Roman huffed, pulling his wing close and preening his feathers as he watched Virgil, it only took a second before his wings fanned out behind him, a display to try and make the others think that his wings were bigger then theirs.

Logan's wings twitched, he almost responded to the display but his wings remained mostly against his back, he couldn't display, he never displayed against them, only at the mirror so he could look at the constellations. None of the others, except Virgil, had seen his wings spread out.

Virgil barely stopped himself from scoffing at the display. He knew that Logan’s were just as big as Roman’s, and prettier at that. He was glad that the two had stopped for the time being though. And now, the moment he was dreading had come. He could only hope that it wouldn’t backfire. Slowly, excruciatingly slowly he relaxed his wings letting them uncoil from his waist and chest until they were fully out. He sighed when he felt a rough patch brush against his arm. Damn it, he coiled too tight. But just as well the relief from the heat distracted him, much like earlier except his daze wasn’t broken by stunned silence but an excited shriek.

Patton couldn’t believe his eyes when what he had believed to be Virgil’s shirt began to move, first twitching then slowly unwrapping from him until they revealed his wings in all their glory. _**His wings.**_ Virgil had wings. He watched as the dark trait sighed, shaking a few of his feathers loose. With a flap, he revealed the patterns on them - purple, white and gray swirls interlocked and free and at the sight he couldn’t help himself and he shrieked in delight.

Logan shushed Patton softly as he was carefully to move behind Virgil, breaking up the kink that had formed by the tight coil and he moved to stand next to Virgil again. "Your doing good." He told the other.

Roman stared, his own wings twitching, Virgil's wings were... wider then his, but the same length. He scrunched up his nose before he saw the patterns and his face softened, eyes tracing over every pattern as he made a soft noise of happiness. "Wow. They are gorgeous.."

Virgil’s head shot up when Patton shrieked, wincing at the sudden loud noise. Once shushed however he sneaked a peek at the moral side’s face and could see the happiness and excitement shining through. It helped him to relax a little which was helped along by Logan smoothing his feathers soothingly, and helping him to stop twitching. He froze altogether at Roman’s words.

Logan watched Virgil for a moment before he was careful to take the anxious counter parts hand and run his thumb over his palm. "He's right, they are gorgeous." He tells Virgil, looking at his face.

Roman huffed, looking at Virgil, "But their bigger then mineeeee" He whines, huffing before he walks up, standing face to face with Virgil and displaying his wings aggressively, hoping the other would take the bait and fan out.

He was disappointed then when Virgil snapped out of his shocked daze, only to reach out a hand to Roman’s own wings to smooth over the tip that Logan had grabbed earlier. His concern won out over his shock and fear, and he gently soothed the kink that formed. “You shouldn’t have grabbed so hard, Lo,” he muttered softly to his counterpart, but smiled softly at him to let him know that he still appreciated the action and the words.

Roman whimpered softly as the fingers worked out the kinks against his wing and he bit his lower lip. Patton was normally soft, but this was something else, it was soft but had enough pressure at the same time, it was relaxing and comforting.

Logan rolled his eyes slightly. "I will try not to grab so hard in the future." He said, his wings as he stepped out from between Roman and Virgil, moving to stand next to Patton.

Patton, still bouncing with excitement, let his wings flutter. He ended up flapping so hard that he floated closer to the trio. He inspected Roman’s wing, throwing a “great job, kiddo!” over his shoulder to Virgil before turning to face him completely. He really wanted to see more of the patterns! “Kiddo do you think you could uh” and he let his wings fan out, ignoring Roman’s squawk of protest because his wings were actually bigger than he thought. He squealed again when Virgil did as he asked.

Logan kept his wings tucked against him, looking down, the ring of black was large and quite dark on the logical traits skin as he moved away from the group, sitting on the edge of Virgil's bed as he kept his head in his hands.

Roman, even the ego, upset that Virgil's wings were bigger, noticed Logan separate from the group and his wing subconsciously moved so that Virgil would be able to see the other trait.

Virgil immediately flapped his wings, startling Patton, launched himself towards the bed to the logical trait’s side. “Hey Lo, I think it’s time to get you out of here” he murmured, gently grabbing his counterpart’s arm and sinking them down into the other’s room, the other two following close behind.

Patton, startled as he was, immediately felt the shift in the room’s emotion. It was...sad? Throwing Roman a look of concern he turned on his heel and left the room, and once in the hallway knocked on the logical trait’s door. “Kiddos, are you okay?” He called.

Roman frowned, he was out of the room and his wings puffed up, following after Patton. "What's wrong Patton?" He questioned.

Outside the door, Patton had begun to pace. Something was wrong, but he didn’t know what had caused it so he couldn’t fix it. He could only hope that Virgil could. Meanwhile, Roman had asked him the same question about 10 times now and he replied with a sigh, “I don’t know, Ro. All I know is that before they left the emotion in that room changed and not for the better. I don’t know what to do!”

Roman frowned, "I know, I mean... You are feelings so you felt it more then I did but I felt it... And I wanted to ignore it... but Virgil took off with Logan." He said, stepping in front of Patton so he would stop pacing. "Logan would be upset if you wore down the carpet in front of his room. How about you let me preen your wings while we wait for Virgil..."

Patton jumped up from the floor where he sat, letting Roman preen him, at the sound of the crash and the sounds of the struggle that came after it. Barely glancing at Roman to see that he was also up, he charged into the room, privacy be damned.

~~~

Logan held onto Virgil's arm, his eyes still casted downward as his wings were tucked tightly against him. He reached out to grab the clip that was laying on his bed, ready to put it back on. "I..I need your help to put it on..."

Virgil snatched it up before he could reach it as he was closer, and held it away from the clearly distressed side. He could sense the turmoil in the other man, after all it was his job, and he didn’t understand what had happened to cause him to shift mood so quickly. “Lo?” He asked softly, carelessly chucking the clip away in favor of grabbing the other’s chin and lifting it to make him look up at him. The eye shadow had yet to fade and it had him scared. “Talk to me, Lo, please?” He entreated, not realizing that he was letting his fear show.

Logan's eyes looked up at Virgil, sniffling slightly as he tried to hold back his tears. "Roman... He was displaying.... and so was Patton... and so were you..." He whispered, "But... I don't display... I can't... not... not after what happened last time." He whispered, curling up his knees to his chest before he spotted the clip that had been tossed to the side and he lunged for it, wanting to put it on so no one could see his wings.

Virgil saw the movement a second too late, and watched as Logan lunged for the the clip. Figuring that he wouldn’t get there in time anyway, he did the next best thing. He tackled him in a hug, and refused to let go no matter how much the other squirmed and tried to buck him off. This was causing Logan’s wings to become ratted from the struggle, but as much as Virgil hated that the other was so distressed this was better than letting him bind them.

Patton came charging into the room, privacy be damned. The sight on the floor shocked him, but not more than the tear tracks on Logan's face.

Logan had struggled upon initial contact but when it became obviously clear that Virgil was not going to get off of him, he just laid under the other, sobbing into the carpet, his right hand still reaching out for the clip which laid about a foot away from his hand.

Roman followed in after Patton, shocked at the scene in front of him, looking around the room as he had never been in Logan's room before, his eyes slowly returned to the two sides on the floor. "What is going on Virgil? This is your fault isn't it?" He growled out.

Patton gasped at Roman, “ **Roman Creativity Sanders** , I am disappointed in you!” He scolded, glaring at the passionate side, “now is not the time to point any fingers. It _isn’t helping_ anyone right now.” He shot a disappointed look at Roman, before slowly approaching the two on the floor, both of whom were now crying though Virgil was doing so quietly and went unnoticed by Logan.

Roman huffed in anger and annoyance before he stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard that the room shook slightly and it gave Thomas a headache.

“Hey Virge, do you think you could give me Logan?” He softly asked as he knelt beside them, arms open. The dark trait hesitated for a moment before handing Logan over, still sobbing, to the older side. Patton, arms full of precious cargo, them stands and carries the logical trait to the bed and setting him down before hugging him again and softly cooing in an attempt to soothe the other’s distress.

Logan sobbed against Patton's chest, hands bunched up in the fabric of his shirt and tears rolled down his cheeks. "I...I um... Its my fault..." He whispered out, the black under his eyes receding just slightly. "I...I need to clip my wings... I can't...I can't risk a repeat..." He whimpered softly, trying to hide his face against his chest. Why was he feeling this way, it was so illogical, but deep down, he was scared, and being in Virgil's room twice in one day, the anxious feeling coursing through him had been to much, the extreme for the logical trait.

Patton was confused, and ran his hands through Logan’s hair soothingly as he puzzled out the other’s statement. What did he mean by a repeat? A repeat of what? He was shocked at the adamance and the finality in his opposite’s tone when he talked about clipping. He couldn’t have that! He may not remember what they really look like since it’s been years since Logan’s displayed his wings fully, but he didn’t deserve to do that to himself. Wait a minute. Display? A memory stirred and he had a feeling he knew what brought this on. But first he had to calm Logan down. Gently pulling him away from where he rested against his chest, Patton pulled Logan around to face him. “Logan, what’s the scientific term for a tomato?” He asked, hoping that drawing on the logical side’s knowledge of scientific terms would ground him enough to calm down on his own.

"S...So...Solanum lycopersicum... and..and the potato you seemed to...to be obsessed with a while ago is a Solanum tuberosum..." He said, coughing slfghtly. "And the Egglant also falls in the same... same area with Solanum melaongena..." He said, breathing slowly evening out as he pressed his face against Patton's chest again. "El principe es estupido..." He whispered out softly, "le prince est stupide..." He added, practicing his languages while he tried to calm down again. He reached up with his left hand and wiped at his face, blackness faded to gray but was not fully gone yet. He was still horrified at what he had done.

“There you are, Lo,” the moral side cooed, “you’re doing great.” Sensing that most of the anxious energy from earlier had dissipated, Patton now felt that it was time to address the _heart_ of the issue. But first, to check on Virgil...who is currently passed out on the floor using one of his wings as a blanket. Ah. Well, he’s going to have a few kinks from that later, but he’ll be fine. Back to Logan now, his breathing was almost back to normal and he seemed more coherent.

Logan was watching Patton, his wings shifting to tuck against his back as he forced them to not fan out though they desperately wanted to, they wanted to puff up at Logan's sadness, wanted to wrap around him and protect him, none of which he would let them do. "W... Why am I so dejected over something that happened years ago Patton?" He whispered, looking up at Patton, "I can't... I can't fan out again... I can't see that expression or feel that... feel that feeling again."

Patton, already having guessed the problem, felt his heart break at the distress that was rolling off of him in waves. Even after all these years Logan still hadn’t let go of that incident, still hadn’t forgiven himself for reacting as a child would when scared or startled. It was not his fault, _or_ Roman’s that it happened. It just did. And he told him so, as it was long overdue. “Logan it is alright to feel remorse for something that you have done that you perceive to be wrong-“ he held up a finger when he saw the logical trait about to argue, “let me finish.”

Once the other had once again settled down, he continued. Logan needed to hear this. “It is okay to feel bad, even years after the fact. It’s okay! It’s normal. But we’ve been over this already, Lo. Staying in the past, beating yourself up over something that you had had no control over- it’s not good. It’s not healthy, for you or for Roman. It wasn’t good for me either, and that was with _good_ memories. Never mind this guilt that you’ve held on to for so long. I never blamed you Logan, not once. They may be too young to remember it, but neither did they. Especially not Virgil. And Roman...well, all I remember from that day after I found him was that while yes, he was scared, he also felt really bad for hurting your feelings. He didn’t understand why you stopped challenging him anymore, but he believed it to be his fault. He’s forgotten that now, but he still does it to try and get you to do it. He’s not mad, Lo, and you shouldn’t be either. Please, _**please**_ let it go Lo.” He finished, cupping the other’s face in his hands and leaning forward to kiss him on the forehead.

Logan let out a sob, his hands tensing in Patton's shirt as he was kissed, "H...He was gone for hours Patton... Almost a day... and it was my fault... if someone thing had happened... if he had died..." Logan whispered, tears in his eyes but he let out a breath, looking down at his body. "I'm just so exhausted Pat... So exhausted from never fanning out, I want to... But its been... its been so long." He whispered.

Patton’s heart broke further at the exhaustion on his opposite’s face. He kissed his nose, and whispered “then let yourself Lo. Even if it goes against everything you’ve been telling yourself for years. Even if it’s hard. Just once, please Lo. This is hurting you.” He wrapped his arms around the logical side and squeezed as he said, “Let go, Logan. Just let go.”

Logan let out a strangled noise as two gorgeous blue wings spread out, knocking books off the rest of the bed as he relaxed in Patton's hold. After a minute, they returned back to Logan's back, but the other looked more relaxed now that he had done it. "I don't want to hurt any of you..."

Patton smiled, wide and relieved. “And you won’t, Logan.” He booped him on the nose, “and you know how I know? Because if you had stopped yourself from doing that for years in order to protect Roman from what believed to be a threat then I know that you would stop at nothing to prevent any harm from to us, especially any harm coming from you.” He lifted his chin, and made him look at him. “You won’t hurt us Logan, I promise. It’s time for you to stop denying yourself.” He scooted back and away from the logical trait and simply gestured at him to do what he must. It was up to him now.

Logan sighed, carefully climbing off the bed and his wings fanned out, just a simple display, there was nothing aggressive about it. After a few minutes they sagged, Logan grabbing onto the edge of the bed to sturdy himself as he glanced at Patton. "You should.. go check on Roman... I'll put Virgil to bed... That way he doesn't hurt his wing by sleeping like that." He said, moving over to where Virgil was.

Patton nodded. He’d done what he could. And now he had another wayward child to speak to. He slid off the bed, and before leaving grabs Logan in another hug and presses a kiss to his forehead. Patton sank down into his and Roman’s hallway, steeling himself for what is sure to be another harrowing conversation.

~~~

Logan carefully lifted Virgil off the floor, brought him to his own room and tucked him in where his wings wouldn't be hurt before he left the room, he couldn't stay in there for very long right now, not if he wanted to stay calm. He went back to his room to practice fanning his wings at himself in the mirror.

~~~

Roman was practicing his sword fighting in his room, his wings up in an aggressive manor and he looked towards the door, getting hit with the wooden sword the twirling robot hit him with. He growled, willing it away before he looked at Patton. "Your done with specs?" He asked in annoyance.

Patton hummed, moving deeper into the room before seating himself on the bed and gazing expectantly at Roman. And when the other petulantly ignored him, he did the one thing he knew would get his attention- he displayed. Not only that but he displayed to his full wingspan, something he had never done before having had no need to when reasoning with his fellow sides. But desperate times call for desperate measures. There were perks to being the eldest and most established trait.

Roman heard it before he saw it, whipping around before he displayed back at Patton, moving to sit next to him as his wings drooped in submission at the fact that the other was still displaying. "What do you need Pat?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he rubbed his hands together, sword abandoned on his bedroom floor.

Patton also allowed his wings to relax and return to their previous position seeing as Roman was well and thoroughly cowed. He was sorry he had to result to such tactics but there was nothing for it when the ego was getting a bit too much. “We need to talk about today.” He replied softly, moving to sit cross legged on top of the covers fully facing the younger side.

Roman turned away from Patton, looking down at the ground, "I'm not apologizing. It was bad enough you used my full name." He grit out, crossing his arms over his chest. "But if your here I guess that means you figured out what Virgil did to hurt Logan right?"

Patton raised an eyebrow at him, not at all appreciating the stubbornness he was displaying. But he knew that now was not the time to strong-arm him. It was time for the kid gloves to come back on, if only for the next 10 minutes. “Virgil had done nothing to hurt Logan, Roman. He never has, and he never will.” He shook his head at the creative side, knowing full well that he knew that. Still, he knew why he was lashing out and like Logan he couldn’t fault the younger side for acting the way he was. “He stopped Logan from hurting himself.”

Roman looked down, "Yea, by using the stupid clip he always seems to have on... pocket protector needs to learn those things are bag for your wings." He said, turning to look at Patton. "He let Virgil preen his wings Patton!" He screeched, the burst coming out in a fit of anger and a few tears at the same time. "He never let us touch his wings. He doesn't even fan out! What is his problem! Why in the hell did he let the emo nightmare touch his wings first!"

Patton decided to address the second half of Roman’s tirade first. Perhaps it would explaining the first half a little easier. “Yes, yes he did Roman. He did let Virgil touch his wings. But you must consider that Virgil also showed him his wings first. It was an equal show of trust between them. He trusted Virgil because he knew that would understand his fear.”

Roman looked confused, "What fear? What does the nerd have to be scared of?"

“Himself.” Patton replied simply. He could see that the explanation would not be enough, but like all parents have to do at one point or another he had to let Roman reach the right conclusion on his own.

Roman rubbed at his face. "What the heckity heck... five abs and one pec...." Roman muttered, looking at Patton. "Why is he scared of himself? That doesn't make any sense... Its not logical..."

“Logic is not always logical, just as you cannot always be creative. Just as I can’t always be happy. Just as Virgil is not the enemy you need to fight.” Patton replied, seeing that Roman needed a bit of a push. “There was an incident years ago, and ever since then Logan has not once fanned even when alone. His guilt was too much for him to allow himself to.”

Roman frowned, trying to understand what Patton was talking about when he closed his eyes he had a flash of a memory, he was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, much shorter then Logan, the other was fanned out at him and he could feel tears running down his face. He shook his head and rubbed at his cheeks to make the feeling go away. "Your saying I did this... I don't remember what I did... I just remember being scared...."

Patton shook his head, “ no Roman, it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. We were all young, just children. He reacted just as a startled child would when he displayed the way that he did at what he thought was a threat. You were after all wearing that mask that you wanted to show him. And you reacted just as a scared child would when you ran away and hid from him. No one was in the wrong. But for years Logan has held the guilt from that encounter inside of him, thinking of all that one incident that he fanned could’ve caused. So he hasn’t until now and instead he hid his wings away. Just as Virgil has all these years.”

Roman looked down, ego bruised as he thought about it. "I didn't understand for the longest time why he wouldn't display back... I even tried pulling on his wing... How could I have been so stupid...."

Patton gently lifted his chin to make him look at him, “you didn’t know Roman. Like I said we were young when this happened. You and Virgil had barely just popped up in the mindscape then. No one is to blame. All that’s left to do is to try and move forward as best we can, and learn from our past mistakes so that we don’t repeat them.”

Roman nodded, looking at Patton. "Is Logan alright?" He asked, he knew he would have to apologize at some point, but not now. Now wasn't the best time.

“He’s finally stretching his wings, so it’s bound to tire him out. It’ll be a while yet before he’s ready to start displaying but even a little progress is progress.” Patton replied, reaching over to run a hand through Roman’s hair comfortingly.

Roman lent into the touch. "Thank you Patton." He whispered.

“You’re welcome kiddo,” Patton murmured back at him, softly ruffling his hair. The storm has passed, and his family would be okay. Just one last thing...”don’t forget to apologies to Virgil as well Roman. He was only trying to help.”

Roman huffed, "Fineeeee." He said before he stood up, displaying at Patton playfully before returning to his training.

Patton just shook his head before getting up from the bed, and leaving the room. That was probably the best he would get from Roman for now. At the very least he agreed to apologies.

It was a start.

~~~

Logan was in the kitchen, his wings fanned out, he was making something to eat, his plan to go to bed once he had eaten. He looked at Patton before his wings drooped slightly, the tips of his feathers resting against the ground.

Patton allowed his to fan out in reply and held them there. Waiting to see if Logan would try to meet it.

Logan stared at the wings for a moment, his own twitching and fanning up slightly in reply, they definitely not spread like Patton's but it was a start. "How is Roman?"

Patton smiled. He was proud of him for trying. “He’s okay. I made him see reason. He even agreed that he needed to apologies to Virgil.” He stepped further into the kitchen and hopped up onto one of the counters. “Whatcha making?”

Logan blushed slightly at the smile, "A sandwich, and an apology to Virgil? Wow, you really must have set him straight." He said, chuckling at the word straight.

“Nah, he’s still as rainbow-riffic as ever. But yes, though only just barely. I have a feeling that he’s only about to get more jealous now that we know about Virgil’s wings.” Patton replied with first a chuckle of his own, then a sigh. “Time will tell.” He hopped off of the counter. I’ll leave you to it Logan. Goodnight.” He kissed him on the forehead and ruffled his hair before leaving the kitchen and heading to his own room for the night.

Logan paused for a moment before he made a second sandwich, carefully carrying both places down the hall towards his room, he placed one down on his desk before bringing the other to Virgil and leaving it on the night stand, taking a deep breath, he fans fully for the sleeping male before he starts to leave the room.

It was a start.

Virgil having just woken up moments prior to Logan’s arrival smiled at the sight, not that Logan could see it given how dark it was inside the room. He would’ve spoken up but he let Logan leave. He knew that he needed to prove it to himself first before being ready to try with others. And he was fine with that. It was progress and it was enough.

Logan went back to his room, sitting on his bed and eating his sandwich. He cleaned up the plate before he laid down, exhausted from fanning his unused wings.

For once in the longest time, he felt at peace, his eyes fluttered close as he fell asleep.


End file.
